WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Arsène

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◈ The Romance Fantasy’s Pushover Crown Prince Is No More ◈

Chapter 59: Confession Attack (8)

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While Imperial Crown Prince Bellon stared in surprise at the Dragons that had appeared in the garden behind the Imperial Palace…

"...To prevent a war, we need to talk first."

"Crown Princess! Talk? Surely you don't mean to go to the enemy camp?"

"It seems there's been some misunderstanding, so we need to clear it up."

Mirne calmly directed the battle and adjusted the course of the war.

For now, it was still a show of force, with both sides exchanging magic, but they could clash at any moment.

The moment they did, there would be casualties. That could never be allowed.

'If this can be resolved through dialogue, then dialogue is the right way.'

Bubble, bubble.

Rumble.

Mirne briefly turned her attention to the Spirits protecting her body.

For some reason, she felt like she needed to keep doing this.

She was perfectly fine without a single injury, yet she felt anxious unless the Spirits remained wrapped around her body.

As though she had been gravely injured and hastily recovered.

'What is this feeling?'

There had even been a time when she was taking a walk and reached a certain part of the garden.

"Argh!"

Pain had suddenly washed over her, making her scream.

It felt as though she had been hacked to pieces.

'What on earth happened?'

Mirne was certain the System was involved in this situation.

It was both the force trying to make the story proceed as it had in the original work and one of her Special Perks.

[ I am here for you. ]

'I know. I know.'

After reading the System message and muttering to herself, Mirne focused on the present again.

'Five more years, no, it'll be four soon, won't it?'

Once that time passed, the Covenants would naturally be broken.

If events followed the original story, there was no way the Empire could fulfill every Covenant.

'Then every Executioner will naturally come over to my side.'

The Empire would not be able to resolve any of the Covenants.

Even if it did, the result would be much the same.

'First, I need to end this war, then secure the World Tree and the title of Noble...'

When was this absurd confession war ever going to end?

Mirne furrowed her brow and reaffirmed the decision she had made earlier.

"I'll meet them myself and resolve this quickly. It's the only way to minimize casualties on both sides."

"Your Highness...!"

There was so much she needed to do. Why were so many obstacles suddenly getting in her way?

Mirne could not understand it at all.

+++++

There was no need to worry about where the Dragons would stay.

"We have our nests. We have only gathered in one place like this to celebrate the birth of the Dragon Princess. Once the celebration is over, we will return to our original nests."

The Dragons had already begun preparing to leave as soon as they celebrated Arveda reclaiming her True Name.

"And when will you return?"

"When the Dragon Princess calls us. By reclaiming her name, the Dragon Princess has had her nobility recognized, so we will answer her call."

I had thought they would never return.

Their answer was completely unexpected.

"I still don't understand. Reclaiming her name means that much? Enough for this many Dragons to gather in an instant?"

"Dragons have no center. We must forcibly create one and bind ourselves around it."

"And that center is Arveda?"

"That is correct. Dragons are fundamentally uninterested in one another. But if that continues, the race will eventually walk the path of extinction. They must interact with one another if they are to continue looking toward the future."

If Arveda called, the Dragons currently filling the Imperial Palace garden would appear again.

'So, to put it simply, Arveda is the nuclear button.'

It went beyond being able to borrow the power of an awakened Arveda, now a true Dragon.

It meant I could borrow the power of Dragonkind itself. It was an absurd advantage.

'Now I understand why there isn't a separate reward for resolving the Covenant. Just like when I fulfilled Lumynix's Covenant, I thought the System would give me something, so I wondered why there was nothing this time.'

'When I can earn the favor of a Dragon Princess followed by all these Dragons... what other reward could I need?'

The reward for resolving Arveda's Covenant was Arveda herself.

Having her as an ally would greatly increase our military strength.

"Arveda, we will always await your call, so summon us whenever you wish."

"Unghi! I will! I am a princess, after all!"

"And as for you, Crown Prince, Arveda is now undeniably the Dragon Princess, so... I hope you will not treat her too much like a subordinate."

I nodded at the Dragon who had been speaking with me and appeared to be the leader of the group.

"She is already playing around on my bed right now."

"...That was needless interference. My apologies. This is the first time our side has seen the birth of a Dragon Princess, so please understand that we cannot help being cautious."

"Yes, I understand."

It was like suddenly gaining an adorable granddaughter.

Of course they would have all sorts of concerns. I was not offended in the slightest.

Besides.

"This is a small token of our sincerity. We hope you will treat our Dragon Princess even better from now on, though it appears you are already treating her well."

Rumble.

The Dragons had each poured what were obviously valuable items from their nests into the garden.

[ The Imperial Treasury temporarily enters a state of ‘Abundance.’ ]

[ The national project currently receiving the Empire’s greatest investment, the ‘Mana Stone Train,’ is affected by ‘Abundance.’ ]

[ The efficiency of every aspect related to the ‘Mana Stone Train’ greatly increases, and cost-reduction effects are also applied. ]

How could I possibly be offended?

'This is the reward.'

Far from being offended, I had to force myself to keep my rising smile under control.

"Right. Arveda's formal way of speaking was awkward enough already."

"Uhang! This lady is now, ahem! A princess! So I am somewhat equal to His Highness the Imperial Crown Prince! I am!"

"You still speak formally, though."

"Gradually, gradually... I will reduce it! Unghi... Then I'll say this clearly while I have the chance! This lady will absolutely claim His Highness the Imperial Crown Prince's bed from now on! It is!"

Arveda was so happy that she was hopping around with her arms spread wide, babbling away.

It seemed she had worried a great deal that something bad might happen during the process of fulfilling the Covenant.

Now that only good results had come of it, her excitement had shot through the roof.

-Could it be that even this... isn't enough?

-Even if every Covenant is resolved, the time of the Empire's destruction does not change.

-There is only one reason.

-The Empire is...

Then, as I watched her, the Crown Prince's memories suddenly began playing.

'Why did it cut off at such a boring part?'

The Covenants had been resolved one by one, leaving three.

I had thought that if I steadily resolved them one by one like this, the possibility of destruction would disappear entirely.

Yet the Crown Prince's memories were suddenly telling me the Covenants were not everything.

The Empire is... What could possibly come next that made him say it in such a hollow voice?

'The easiest possibility is that it has something to do with the Dark Mages... that the Empire becomes a nest for the Demon Race.'

The Demon King would descend upon the Empire and turn it into a wasteland.

Then Mirne, the Saintess, would neatly defeat it.

It was a development I could somewhat expect.

"Then we will be going now."

"You may come visit the Empire whenever you're bored, so feel free to come. Even if Arveda doesn't call you."

"I did not expect the Crown Prince's consideration to run so deep. Thank you."

The Dragons vanished in the blink of an eye, just as quickly as they had appeared.

That brought the situation to an end.

"Your Highness! Then I will go to your bed first!"

"Yes, go ahead."

Patter, patter, patter.

Arveda headed toward my bedchamber with a beaming smile.

After confirming there was nothing else to worry about, everyone else gradually dispersed as well.

And I...

'Things are going too well. That's the problem.'

I was wary of how smoothly everything was going.

I was currently screwing Mirne over with the confession attack operation, but all the ones being drawn in by the bait were small fry.

'In a romance story, these small fry are only passing roles, or at most tools to provoke jealousy.'

The real deal had not appeared yet.

To begin with, was there even anyone left who could be called the real deal? That was questionable too.

'The Northern Grand Duke is dead, and the East Grand Duke... has lost his power. The Northern Great Warrior is under my command, and the genius mage Theo is the same.'

The Saint was dead as well, so he was out.

By the numbers, five male protagonists were either dead or had been brought over to my side.

At this point, I had to wonder whether this was even a romance fantasy.

The essence of romance fantasy was not for the protagonist to deal with everything alone.

That would just make it a fantasy novel.

Something had to happen through romantic relationships.

Yet given the current situation, it seemed impossible for anything romantic to happen.

The only possibility that came to mind was the former East Grand Duke, Kailen Marin, awakening.

'But even if he awakens, he has no forces at all. What could he possibly do?'

With that question in mind, I decided to rest for now, then focus on what I needed to do immediately.

While I continued shaping public opinion so the neighboring kingdoms would also join the confession attack, a System message suddenly appeared before my eyes.

[ As the number of male protagonists has rapidly decreased, the order of the story will be changed slightly. ]

"Hm?"

[ An Elf who guarded the World Tree, a Beastman striving for the prosperity of their tribe, and a prince possessing the Mystery of the distant Eastern Continent are scheduled to appear in this world. ]

"Ha."

It was an advance notice that the real big fish were about to appear.

The prince from the Eastern Continent did not seem likely to appear anytime soon.

The fish I needed to worry about right away were probably the Elf and the Beastman.

'Right. If Mirne handles everything alone, it's just a female protagonist fantasy.'

Hurry up and show yourselves so I can strip you clean.

Footnotes:

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